KANO, Nigeria (AP) -- Police say suspected members of a radical sect have attacked two more police stations, leaving two people dead in a north Nigerian city where 185 people were killed just over a week ago.

Kano State police chief Ibrahim Idris said two civilians died in crossfire between suspected Boko Haram gunmen and police officers Sunday evening in Kano.

Idris said parts of the police station collapsed under the impact of bombs hurled by the attackers.

He said a new attack Monday morning targeted another police station where a policeman was killed last week.

He said the latest strikes occurred just outside curfew hours imposed after coordinated Jan. 20 attacks claimed by Boko Haram left at least 185 dead.

Those were the group's bloodiest attacks against Nigeria's weak central government.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Where's the Outrage Over Murders In Afghanistan?

Is there a single public official who is examining -- who cares about -- the murder spree by Afghan security forces against Western troops and security contractors in Afghanistan? I can list well over 40 such murders in the past two years. These incidents even have their own phrase in military jargon -- "green-on-blue" shootings -- but the color we should all be seeing is red. Does Obama see red? Pelosi? Romney? Newt? Anyone?

In the last several months, there have been six separate attacks on Western forces by uniformed Afghan army members. The toll includes three Australian soldiers killed (as they ended a regular, weekly parade) and 10 wounded; six French troops killed and 16 wounded; and one American killed and seven wounded. The American fatality, 20-year-old Army Pfc. Dustin Paul Napier of Kentucky, was shot in the head earlier this month by an Afghan service member during a game of volleyball on base.

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) didn't offer that painfully vivid detail about the volleyball game; the media did. Official details on these shootings are scarce, and, according to ISAF's "new policy" reported this week by USA Today, will become nonexistent now that ISAF plans to withhold information on such Afghan shootings of Western forces. (Outrageous!) Meanwhile, follow-up investigations are practically unheard of. Only a Freedom of Information Act request by the Air Force Times pried from the Pentagon's clutches the September 2011 report on the murder of nine Americans at Kabul Airport in April 2011 by an Afghan air force officer.

The military's findings? The killer, Ahmed Gul, 46, "acted alone." Reading through the Air Force report, I get the impression that collaboration with "the Taliban" is the only hypothesis the investigators consider worth exploring. It is as though the military believes infiltration by hostile forces is the only conceivable threat posed to U.S. and other allied personnel on their bases in Afghanistan. Having failed to dig up concrete evidence of a more or less conventional enemy conspiracy, military investigators close their eyes to anything else -- such as good, ol'-fashioned Islamic jihad. As Muslims, Afghans and Taliban alike are subject to its call. Fact. Sorry about that, but I didn't write the Quran.

The report states: "The information collected regarding SUBJECT (shooter) and his background does not support his involvement in insurgent activity. (Air Force) analysts, in concert with other analysts and agencies, have reviewed multiple intelligence documents, investigative reports, and Open Source reporting to determine SUBJECT's motive for the attacks. This analysis is not stating that there are no insurgent connections to SUBJECT, but that none have been established thus far during this investigation. Additionally, there are multiple reports that indicated SUBJECT may have had mental issues that were possibly compounded by alleged financial problems."

I may not have read every word of the 436-page report this statement sums up, but I've already picked up a few clues to support the hypothesis that Gul was simply on a jihad.

Gul was said to have returned from Pakistan in 2008 because he "wanted to kill Americans."

Gul frequented a mosque known for being anti-American and pro-Pakistan. (Reminds me of Shafiullah, the volleyball jihadist.)

Gul stayed up all night before his rampage, praying and cleaning his gun. (Reminds me of Maj. Hassan, the Fort Hood jihadist.)

During the melee, Gul shouted to Afghan security forces from a window: "Good Muslims -- please stay away! Muslims don't come close or you will be killed!" (Reminds me of the Mumbai jihadists.)

In a hallway outside the carnage, Gul dipped his finger in blood and wrote on the wall in the Afghan tongue of Dari: "Allah is one," and "Allah in your name."

One witness apparently heard the gunshots as Gul committed suicide, then a voice moaning, "Allah, Allah," then silence.

Silence is right. According to our Inspector Clouseaus with wings, money problems and other stress must have been the murder motive. Some 1,500 Afghans turned out to pay respects to Gul at his funeral. No doubt they all shared similar financial setbacks.

Shame. Jihad is the secret these investigators are keeping, but only from themselves. It drives the murder spree against infidel troops. It also is part of the culture that renders U.S. utopian plans to train an Afghan army and police force dead on arrival. Not saying so doesn't make it go away. It just wastes the lives of our people. Does anyone care?

Afghan assassin murders four French troops

Now when will the United States follow suit? Probably not as long as Barack Obama is President; after all, these attacks are happening with increasing frequency, and yet after every one, U.S. officials affirm our commitment to keep training these jihadis-in-waiting.

“France deplores ‘assassination’ of troops as it threatens to pull out of Afghanistan,” by Ben Farmer and Henry Samuel in the Telegraph, January 20 (thanks to JW):

France has suspended all operations with the Afghan army and threatened to withdraw its forces early from the country after an Afghan soldier shot dead four French troops.

Alain Juppé, France’s foreign minister, said the unarmed soldiers had been victims of an “assassination,” and President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered an immediate review of security for troops training Afghan soldiers.

The killings during a training exercise at the Gwan military base in Kapisa province followed a similar attack last month when an Afghan soldier shot and killed two members of the French Foreign Legion.

Friday’s attack wounded a further 15 and brought the total French death toll in the Afghan campaign to 82. The Afghan attacker was captured alive.

Scores of Nato troops have been shot dead in recent years by their Afghan partners raising fears of widespread Taliban infiltration and underlining the tense relations on the ground between the allies.

Gérard Longuet, defence minister, and the army’s chief of staff are due in Afghanistan to investigate recruitment policy in the Afghan army, Mr Sarkozy said.

“If we are not satisfied with the level of security, we will draw the consequences,” he said. “I will go so far as to order an early withdrawal of our troops. We are there as friends of the Afghan people. We cannot accept that an Afghan soldier fires on French troops.”…

Friends of the Afghan people? Try to explain that to an illiterate zombie who gets his instructions from the mosque!

Insurgents Kill Dozens in Southern Afghanistan

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — More than two dozen people were killed in a four insurgent attacks in southern Afghanistan that began late Wednesday and continued through Thursday afternoon, Afghan authorities said. (NYT)

All of this is supposed to usher in a paradise under Sharia, just as soon as they can kill and terrorize enough people who would stand in the way. "Scores dead as assailants target northern Nigerian city," by Nima Elbagir and Hassan John for CNN, January 21:

Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) -- Nigeria imposed a 24-hour curfew Saturday in the northern city of Kano after assailants killed scores of people and wounded others in a hail of gunfire and coordinated bombings of eight governmentsites.

A military official told CNN that at least 156 people were dead and feared the number would rise.

"The hospitals are not equipped to deal with the influx and severity of the injuries, so we are expecting that figure to go up further," the official said.

Nwankpa Nwankpa, a Red Cross information officer in the capital, Abuja, said 50 people were injured in the attacks. He said that search and rescue operations are underway and volunteers are working to assist the injured.

The attacks targeted several police stations, barracks and the building housing the assistant inspector general of police in Kano, Nigeria's second largest city.

A passport office, state security headquarters and the immigration office were also hit, police said.

Terrified residents barricaded themselves in their homes, said Rev. Murtala Mati of the Christian Association of Nigeria.

"The government is really trying but we are afraid ... we are all scared," he said.

During the attack, assailants entered a police station, freed detainees and bombed it, authorities said. They later canvassed the area in a car led by motorcycles, spraying targets with gunfire.

Islamist group Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the blast in a phone call to the Daily Trust, according to journalists at the newspaper.

Nigeria closed its borders Saturday with Cameroon and Niger, whom it has accused of allowing the militants to move freely into Nigeria.

The government has put in place a state of emergency, and a large deployment of troops has been sent to the north of the country....

Boko Haram's conduct suggests it wants an open civil war between Christians and Muslims, which would make it easier for it to claim territory and impose Sharia.

Nigeria: At least 156 dead in wave of bombings, shootings; Boko Haram jihadists claim responsibility
All of this is supposed to usher in a paradise under Sharia, just as soon as they can kill and terrorize enough people who would stand in the way. "Scores dead as assailants target northern Nigerian city," by Nima Elbagir and Hassan John for CNN, January 21:

Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) -- Nigeria imposed a 24-hour curfew Saturday in the northern city of Kano after assailants killed scores of people and wounded others in a hail of gunfire and coordinated bombings of eight government sites.
A military official told CNN that at least 156 people were dead and feared the number would rise.
"The hospitals are not equipped to deal with the influx and severity of the injuries, so we are expecting that figure to go up further," the official said.
Nwankpa Nwankpa, a Red Cross information officer in the capital, Abuja, said 50 people were injured in the attacks. He said that search and rescue operations are underway and volunteers are working to assist the injured.
The attacks targeted several police stations, barracks and the building housing the assistant inspector general of police in Kano, Nigeria's second largest city.
A passport office, state security headquarters and the immigration office were also hit, police said.
Terrified residents barricaded themselves in their homes, said Rev. Murtala Mati of the Christian Association of Nigeria.
"The government is really trying but we are afraid ... we are all scared," he said.
During the attack, assailants entered a police station, freed detainees and bombed it, authorities said. They later canvassed the area in a car led by motorcycles, spraying targets with gunfire.
Islamist group Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the blast in a phone call to the Daily Trust, according to journalists at the newspaper.
Nigeria closed its borders Saturday with Cameroon and Niger, whom it has accused of allowing the militants to move freely into Nigeria.
The government has put in place a state of emergency, and a large deployment of troops has been sent to the north of the country....
Boko Haram's conduct suggests it wants an open civil war between Christians and Muslims, which would make it easier for it to claim territory and impose Sharia.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Ibrahim: Nigerian New Year = Christian Slaughter

Today on FrontPage Magazine (via RaymondIbrahim.com), I discuss the Nigerian jihad against Christians, which, as JW readers know, only gets more savage by the day:

The New Year's resolution for "Sunnis for Da'wa [Islamization] and Jihad"—also known as Boko Haram, or "Western education is forbidden"—is to create a Christian-free Nigeria, beginning, naturally, with the north, where Muslims outnumber Christians.

Right at the start of 2012, Boko Haram issued an ultimatum giving Christians living in northern Nigeria three days to evacuate or die—an ultimatum the group has been living up to, so much so that Nigeria's President Jonathan recently declared a state of emergency.

This, of course, is not to say that Boko Haram has not been long targeting Christians, as the New York Times—which all but apologized for the group's terrorism—would have it.

Boko Haram and other Muslims have been terrorizing Nigerian Christians for years, killing thousands of them, and destroying hundreds of their churches. Just last November, hundreds of armed Muslims, many from the group, invaded Christian villages, "like a swarm of bees," killing, looting, and destroying. At the end of their four-hour rampage, at least 130 Christians were killed. Forty-five other Christians in another village were slaughtered by another set of "Allahu Akbar!" screaming Muslims.

Likewise, another jihadi attack from last November, enabled by "local Muslims," left five churches destroyed and several Christians killed: "The Muslims in this town were going round town pointing out church buildings and shops owned by Christians to members of Boko Haram, and they in turn bombed these churches and shops." In one instance, a local Muslim pleaded with Boko Haram members not to burn down a particular church—not out of altruism, of course, but rather because that Muslim's home was adjacent to the church, and might also have caught fire. The church was spared....

About Me

I am an Air Force Veteran of the Cold War and the First Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm). I live on a wooded hilltop with my two rescued dogs, Yogi and Ranger, and two rescued cats, White Sox, and Mittens. We share my land with several deer, a family of red-tailed hawks, a barn owl, numerous squirrels (that my dogs and the cat tree together), a family of pileated woodpeckers and numerous cottontail rabbits, and an occasional opossum or raccoon.